Our U13B team was incredibly unlucky to suffer a home defeat to Newtown A yesterday morning at Whitegates. Despite being a depleted Rovers side, missing four key squad players, they started with brilliant pace and determination from the first whistle, pressing Newtown deep into their own half and forcing some excellent defending and goalkeeping from the visitors.
Unfortunately, against the run of play after just 17 minutes, Rovers found themselves 1-0 down. A save from Newtown's keeper led to a long kick downfield, putting their striker through to finish. However, heads didn't drop. For the remainder of the half, Rovers continued their excellent football and were desperately unlucky not to equalize, with Aaron Cunha forcing a superb save from the Newtown keeper.
The second half began with the same attacking intent from Rovers, but once again, Newtown delivered a counter-attacking blow with two quick goals to extend their lead to 3-0. The attitude within the group was truly a credit to themselves; they never gave up. Rovers quickly earned a deserved goal after a nice breakaway and a cross from Darren Hennessey, which saw Billy Nolan apply pressure on the centre-half and keeper to find the back of the net. Game on! Rovers kept pushing relentlessly, chasing that second goal, but couldn't find the breakthrough.
Although it was a defeat, it certainly didn't feel like one; the scoreline doesn't reflect how tightly contested the game truly was. This new group continues to show significant improvement with every match, always displaying an unwavering spirit. We commend them on their brilliant attitude and tireless effort. Our goalkeeper, Alex Doyle, pulled off some brilliant saves, and every outfield player ran themselves into the ground.
Finally, we'd like to extend our thanks to our U12A team for managing to provide a player at very short notice, and to Newtown for a great game.
